It may be time for a new thermostat in the cooling system of your performance engine if the engine is over 10 years old. Ashton Automotive & Performance can replace the thermostat when it goes bad. We are going to list the signs of a faulty thermostat below so you know what to look for in your performance automobile. Your performance engine already runs hotter than a standard engine does. As such, it’s crucial that you have a working thermostat in the cooling system ready to release the coolant.
Rusted Thermostat Housing
One of the first things that can happen to an old thermostat is it can start to leak slowly from the coolant valve. Coolant will seep out of the closed valve and puddle around the thermostat’s metal housing. You probably don’t need us to tell you what happens next; the liquid coolant starts to eat away at the metal. Consequently, this corrodes and rusts the thermostat housing. If you pop the hood and see a rusted thermostat, it’s time to replace it before you end up with…
Leaking Engine Coolant
Eventually, the corrosion will eat completely through the metal housing and you will end up with coolant spots or puddles on the garage floor. When this happens, it’s only natural and expected that the coolant level in the engine will be too low for it to prevent the engine from overheating. An automobile engine should never get harder than 220 degrees Fahrenheit. If your thermostat is leaking coolant onto the garage floor, your engine is likely to get above this temperature.
Erratic Engine Temperatures
Speaking of engine temperatures, the thermostat can also start to malfunction when it gets too old. When this happens, it is unable to read the engine’s temperature correctly and it releases coolant at odd times. Consequently, you end up with erratic changes in your engine’s temperature. You will be able to see these temperature fluctuations on the dashboard’s temperature gauge. Head straight to our shop if your engine’s temperature is changing erratically.
Constant Overheating
Finally, the engine is going to overheat if the thermostat is bad. There is just no way around this. The thermostat may not release the coolant to the engine in time, it may not release the coolant at all, or it may leak coolant and reduce the levels to the point that they are too low.
Call Ashton Automotive & Performance in Killeen, TX, today to schedule a service visit for your performance automobile so we can test the thermostat and replace it if necessary.
